


Sleep

by ShinigamiSlingby



Series: Learning Steps (single parent AU) [1]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Cancer, Don't know why I wrote this, Gen, because I am on my phone, feels trip, gilbert pretending to be strong, it will be done paragraph by paragraph, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 18:46:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10224710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinigamiSlingby/pseuds/ShinigamiSlingby
Summary: He was, no doubts, the most immature man in existence. Then again, even the most immature people go through heartbreak





	

He had always been the immature one so why the hell did God trust him with a kid? His mother had left him, as did the child's- the only difference is that the child's mother died 5 months later. Despite all of this, he knew that he couldn't take care of a child. Especially one with a brain tumour. Francis and Antonio helped him through the small amount of chemo the child was allowed but there was a problem with that. They both had children of their own to look after- clearly as they had met in a single parents group. When Gilbert was told that his child's cancer was inoperable, he was alone. When Gilbert was told that Aldrich only had one month to live, he was alone. It was in his best interest to let Aldrich stay here due to the amount of problems with him and so Gilbert stayed by his son's side. Nothing would help though, the child was to die that night.

Of course they didn't know that when they woke up. Despite being in a hospital and being nearly a room apart, they were the picture of a perfect family. Aldrich, who was lay around a mass of machinery, smiled at his stressed and half sleeping father. He didn't like the room, its chemical smell and painfully white walls, but being with his only family made it that much better. His immature but worrisome father.  
"Dad?" a weak voice travelled from the small, animal print bed. This didn't work, the man continued to snore rather loudly. Aldrich knew how to get his father's attention, a snippet of his mother-tongue. "Vati?" He didn't know the significance of this word, it was simply a name but made Gilbert alert.  
"Ah hello. How are you today my little lion?" Aldrich giggled at his father's peculiar nickname for him.  
"It hurts." he spoke, referring to his brain. The tumour had spread, taking most of his regular functions apart from speech and rather basic things. They will soon be gone too.

The silence began to grow between the two, Aldrich stared into the bed sheets with tears in his eyes. The heart rate monitor and pain ebbed through his sanity. In the boy's small amount of time, he had grown accustomed to pain. That wasn't something that he was proud of, nevertheless, it was horribly true. He looked into his father's eyes, his typical smile never quite reached the ruby mass. His tired eyes appeared strained and full of tears. He had clearly lost the hopes of seeing his child outside of this hospital. Gilbert never cared for children but having one, and a terminally ill one, made him care more than he thought was possible. More than he could anyway.

"Do you think I'll see mama again?" Aldrich spoke suddenly, his voice dropping with pain. Gilbert chuckled and then sat beside Aldrich.  
"Of course you will." His voice cracked and his mind grew hatred for itself. Why couldn't it have been him and not her? "but why do you say that, you only met her a handful of times."  
"She came in my dreams. She told me to not be afraid." He was speaking in words he didn't quite understand.  
"W..what?" Gilbert found, for the first time in his life, that he couldn't find the right words.  
"Mama was there, she told me to not be afraid." he repeated, his high voice filled with exasperation

 

 

Gilbert took his son's hands into his own, smiling weakly when he looked at them.  
"Look at our hands; mine are so large and yours are so small." He was trying to keep his tears at bay.  
"Where will I go when I die?" Aldrich's voice became serious. He had always been a mature child for his age.  
"Well, you will go to heaven. This is where you will live with mama and without pain for the rest of your life." his tears now flowing.  
"And you Vati?"  
"Ald- I don't think they will let me in." he laughed bitterly, looking into his lap.  
"Why not?! If I'm going then so are you Vati. I won't let you leave me." Gilbert simply smiled at how similar he and his son were.  
"And I won't let you leave me little lion." he mumbled, fresh tears falling further down his face. Both of them then sat in total silence.

Gilbert had been sleeping for hours, unaware of what was going to happen. A violent scream came from the other side of the room, Gilbert jumped up with a start. The only plausible conclusion was that his child was hurt.  
"Aldrich?" he called out, rushing to his side. Doctors had already filled the room and were rushing around him with a several pieces of equipment.  
"Da...da" he couldn't even form this simple word. The stream of tears burst to life as the doctors confirmed his fears.  
"There is nothing more we can do."  
"God dammit do something! There must be something." Gilbert growled.  
"Time of death-"  
"Please" he looked at is child, no air escaped his mouth.  
"09:15" the doctor continued.

Gilbert fell to his knees, the tears came faster than before. His son, little lion, had been pronounced dead without any help from the doctors. He resented them, clearly, but not as much as he thought he would.  
"I'll see you in heaven my little lion, say hello to mama for me." he spoke in the white heat of his mind. The doctors had left but he didn't realise that. "sleep tight my little son." He was always the immature one but found himself to be the most caring for the boy.


End file.
